Microsoft to Yahoo: Two Days to Respond or Else! — Sources at Yahoo tell me that Microsoft made its most recent overtures right after Yahoo announced its earnings Tuesday and then told Yahoo execs they had two days to respond or Microsoft would go public with the offer.

What Would a Combined Microsoft-Yahoo Look Like? — Microsoft's $31 a share offer for Yahoo is made possible by Yahoo's slumping shares (Yahoo's stock was trading at about $31 a year ago). While Yahoo has rejected Microsoft's entreaties in the past, with Terry Semel stepping down as chairman …

Hold Everything! We May Get Another YHOO Bidder! * — A Valley source is hearing that a major private-equity firm was just days away from making its own bid for Yahoo when the Microsoft bomb hit this morning. (The same source now reports that TWO firms were circling, both big New York-based shops).

Flickr Rebellion Brews at Specter of M$ Acquisition — A small but vocal minority on Flickr are already staging online protests at the prospect of a Microsoft takeover. Flickr is one of several popular Web 2.0 websites owned by Yahoo that loyal users fear will suffer under Microsoft ownership.

Microsoft Is Building a Spaceship Out of Spare Parts — I used to write about bank mergers, and those always struck me as taking two aircraft carriers and building a new one out of the parts. — For Microsoft, trying to build a new Internet portal-search engine-advertising network-cloud computing company …

MSFT + YHOO: What Would Microsoft Yahoo Look Like? — So the conference call has happened, and despite saying it has a plan to digest Yahoo, Microsoft didn't share that with the world. Indeed, at one point it was said any plan depended on what Yahoo's leadership would suggest. That means it's time for What If.

Microsoft Bids $44.6 Billion for Yahoo — SAN FRANCISCO — In a bold move to counter Google's online pre-eminence, Microsoft said Friday that it had made an unsolicited offer to buy Yahoo for about $44.6 billion in a mix of cash and stock. — If consummated, the deal would redraw …

Microsoft + Yahoo = Big Mess? — Everyone on the sideline seems to be very excited about possible Yahoo and Microsoft merger, but I'm not so sure it's going to turn out pretty. Microsoft has a history of making acquisitions, and few comes to mind of anywhere close to a success.

URLs are People, Too — So you've just built a totally sweet new social app and you can't wait for people to start using it, but there's a problem: when people join they don't have any friends on your site. They're lonely, and the experience isn't good because they can't use the app with people they know.

Social Search is Coming — In a recent interview with VentureBeat, Marissa Mayer, Google's VP of Search Products & User Experience, spoke of Google's interest in social search and their future plans in that area. Social search, which may be the defining quality of Google's next generation …

Third undersea Internet cable cut in Mideast — (CNN) — An undersea cable carrying Internet traffic was cut off the Persian Gulf emirate of Dubai, officials said Friday, the third loss of a line carrying Internet and telephone traffic in three days. — Ships have been dispatched to repair …

Urchin Software Beta Now Public — Today we're happy to announce that the Urchin Software from Google beta is now available for download at urchin.com. Urchin Software from Google is a web analytics product similar in scope to Google Analytics, except you install and manage the software on your own servers.

Microsoft values Yahoo Visitors at $1,200 Each — The big news of the day is Microsoft's $45 billion dollar bid for Yahoo. While the blogosphere will be abuzz with predictions of how this will shake up the online landscape, there's a very real impact on pure “traffic ownership.”